New Jersey's New Pay Transparency Law

New Jersey enacted a new Pay and Benefits Transparency law that became effective June 1, 2025. Under the law, employers who employ 10 or more employees for at least 20 weeks and do business in New Jersey, employ people in New Jersey, or take applications for employment from New Jersey residents have new disclosure requirements for their job postings. Covered employers now must disclose the hourly wage, salary, or a range on all job postings. To satisfy this requirement, employers could list “$25 - $30 per hour” or “$70,000 - $75,000 annual salary” on their job postings. Additionally, covered employers must also provide a general description of the benefits that an employee would be eligible to receive, such as “health, vision, dental, 401(k), etc.”

The law also requires employers to disclose promotion opportunities to current employees before a final decision is made. When eligible employers advertise promotion opportunities, either internally or externally, they must make reasonable efforts to inform existing employees in the impacted department(s) of the opportunity. However, a business that promotes a current employee on the basis of years of experience or performance is exempt from the disclosure requirements.

For companies that fail to disclose the required information, the New Jersey Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development may impose a $300 fine for the first violation and $600 for subsequent violations. For a small silver lining, fines can only be imposed once per position; employers will not be fined $600 for each noncompliant job posting on multiple job boards. The law further does not create a private cause of action; only the Commissioner of Labor can impose a penalty.

There are questions as to the constitutionality of whether New Jersey can bind and enforce its law on out of state employers who do not conduct business in the state. For example, under the law, an Idaho company that accepts an application from a New Jersey resident without the proper disclosures on the job posting would be in violation of the law. The overbroad nature of the law in this respect will likely be challenged in court. We are unaware of any legal challenges to the law to date. However, unless and until the law is challenged, employers who may receive job applications from New Jersey residents should seek to make their job posting compliant.

For questions about the foregoing or any other labor and employment law topic, please do not hesitate to contact the attorneys at Hoffman & Hlavac. To stay updated on key labor and employment law developments that affect your workplace, be sure to subscribe to our blog.